Space weather

Historic space weather may help us understand what's coming next, according to new research by the University of Warwick. Professor Sandra Chapman, from Warwick's Centre for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics, led a project which charted the space weather in previous solar cycles across the last half century, and discovered an underlying repeatable pattern in how space weather activity changes with the solar cycle. The sun goes through solar cycles around every eleven years, during which time the number of sunspots increases to the maximum point (the 'solar maximum'). More solar activity means more solar flares, which in turn can mean more extreme space weather at earth. This breakthrough will allow better understanding and planning for space weather, and for any future threats it may pose to the Earth. Space weather can disrupt electronics, aviation and satellite systems and communications - this depends on solar activity, but as this is different for each solar cycle, the overall … [Read more...] about Historic Space Weather Could Clarify What’s Next

WASHINGTON — The House Science Committee approved July 24 a modified version of a space weather forecasting bill that the Senate passed last year amid criticism of the committee's approach to the legislation. The committee approved on a voice vote an amended version of S.141, the Space Weather Research and Forecasting Act. That bill was introduced in the Senate in January 2017 and passed by unanimous consent in May 2017. The original version of the bill codified many elements of a space weather strategy developed during the Obama administration, assigning responsibilities to various government agencies regarding forecasting of space weather and planning to mitigate the effects of major events on critical infrastructure. [The Sun's Wrath: Worst Solar Storms in History] The House originally intended to take up a companion bill, H.R. 3086, introduced last June by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) That bill's original cosponsors included then Rep. Jim Bridenstine … [Read more...] about House Committee Approves Space Weather Bill

A NASA satellite designed to study the region where space weather and Earth weather meet won't launch this week after all. An airplane carrying NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) spacecraft and its Northrop Grumman Pegasus rocket took off last Wednesday (June 6) on a two-day "ferry flight" from California to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, ahead of a planned June 14 launch. But the plane was routed back to the mainland after Northrop Grumman spotted an issue with the Pegasus, NASA officials announced Friday (June 8). "During a ferry transit, Northrop Grumman saw off-nominal data from the Pegasus rocket," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "While ICON remains healthy, the mission will return to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for rocket testing and data analysis. A new launch date will be determined at a later date." ICON and the Pegasus were attached to the belly of the plane. This is a normal configuration for Pegasus, which launches in midair … [Read more...] about Rocket Issue Delays Launch of NASA’s ICON Space-Weather Mission

Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth, and new research indicates the two main stars there might be friendly to life."The Alpha Centuari system will be the first stop for interstellar travelers from Earth," Tom Ayres of the University of Colorado at Boulder told reporters at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Denver. "The age of the system is similar to the sun, which is good for the development of life."Ayres' research uses 13 years of data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory to look at the x-ray radiation thrown off by the three stars making up the Alpha Centauri system. It finds that the "space weather" around the two main stars, Alpha Centauri A and B, is actually quite favorable to the formation of life.Space weather refers to the particles thrown off by stars, including big flares of x-ray radiation that can strip away atmospheres and sterilize planets without protective magnetic fields like the one that keeps us from being fried by our own sun here on … [Read more...] about Space weather around the first stars we’ll visit is favorable to life

In the near-Earth environment—where thousands of civilian and military satellites and other instruments are currently located—space weather poses a significant risk. Radiation belts can affect satellite operation. Particles and currents from the magnetosphere can heat the upper atmosphere, resulting in satellite drag that can change the obits of low-altitude satellites. Dynamic occurrences in the magnetosphere can influence the ionosphere, which can then interrupt communication and navigation satellites. In addition, in the most heavily satellite-populated region of the Earth’s magnetosphere, there is a particularly challenging type of space weather known as the spacecraft surface-charging environment (SCE). When SCEs occur, they could damage satellites and thus interrupt radio/television reception, disrupt the operation of cellphones and GPS,and endanger military and civilian operations. “We need to protect our assets in space,” said Vania Jordanova, PhD, … [Read more...] about Novel Software Platform Can Predict Space Weather